Larry Hayes, who has served as the secretary of Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear’s executive cabinet since December 2007, has been appointed by Beshear to the post of secretary of the Kentucky Economic Development Cabinet.

He was chosen after a national search conducted by the PACE Group, a Chicago and Tupelo, Miss.-based executive search firm.

Other finalists for the job were:

• Chad Newell, a developer with Newton Oldacre McDonald, a Nashville, Tenn.-based retail development firm, and former executive vice president of the Metropolitan Development Board in Birmingham, Ala.

• And Rhonda Rice, executive administrator with Innovation Valley Inc., a regional economic development partnership in East Tennessee and executive vice president of the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership.

Hayes’ state economic development work dates back to the mid-1980s, when he served as secretary of the economic development cabinet during the Martha Layne Collins administration. He is credited with helping bring Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America to Georgetown, Ky.

Hayes was deputy mayor under Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson from 2003 to 2007, and he has been involved in several private businesses in the warehouse, distribution and banking industries.

During his time in the Beshear administration, Hayes has been credited with helping encourage Ford Motor Co. to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to retool its Louisville plants and DHL GmbH to relocate its North American sorting operations to Northern Kentucky from Ohio.

“Larry has been a trusted aide and adviser as my secretary of the cabinet since I took office nearly two years ago,” Beshear said in a news release. “However, there is nothing more important right now than our efforts to maintain and grow jobs during this trying economy.

“If you look at his background and his record of creating jobs and strategies for successful economic development, there is simply no one better to lead our efforts than Larry Hayes,” Beshear added. “His broad range of both public- and private-sector experience has benefited many areas of the state, and I look forward to his continued work in the recruitment and retention of jobs on behalf of Kentucky.”

Hayes will be replaced as executive cabinet secretary by current state budget director Mary Lassiter, who has worked in state government for more than 25 years. She has been budget director since 2003.

Lassiter will continue her duties as budget director while serving as executive cabinet secretary.

“I am confident that, with Mary’s capable and strong leadership, we won’t miss a beat in effectively and efficiently administering this government on behalf of the commonwealth,” Beshear said.

Comments

If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.